


A Curse Called Love

by daretoliveforever



Series: A Curse Called Love [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Future Fic, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 06:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daretoliveforever/pseuds/daretoliveforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love was always something that people looked for in their life. People would spend eternity trying to find someone to love them. But that was over 1000 years ago. In today’s time, love is a curse. Society sees love as a curse that destroys people’s lives. The idea of falling in love never once crossed Harry’s mind. That is, until he met Niall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Curse Called Love

Love used to be the most sought after thing in a person’s life. People would spend years finding someone to love them. There where the lucky ones who did find someone. But, some weren’t so lucky. Love would take over people’s lives. They would spend all their time ‘dating’ and whatnot with people. People lost all insight about the world around them. When a person would find love, they would marry them. They would spend their whole life with that person. Why? The scientists say its ‘cause they cared about the persons well being, just as they cared about themselves, if not more.

 About 1000 years ago, the world that was once filled with love, began to crumple at the seams. People would find the person that they love, or so they said, and they would get married. They would spend years together, having children and live their lives together. But ultimately, their marriage would end in divorce. It became more and more frequent. People began telling their children not to fall in love because they would only end in heartbreak. Well after 1000 years, they finally succeeded. Those children never did fall in love, they followed their parent’s advice, and now love is considered the ultimate evil.

 Today, things are very different. Love is a curse. It is something that people frown upon. You don’t want to fall in love. If you do, then both of you will be arrested. The government does this because they think that those that fall in love will corrupt the society, that they will lead people astray.

 Love is hated. If a man falls in love with a woman, or vice versa, people believe they will become so consumed by love that they will ultimately die from the pain it brings. Now if two people of the same gender fall in love, the government will not tolerate that 'kind' of love. The 2 people will be arrested and sent through to death. I didn't quite understand the difference of falling in love with a man or a woman, but society feared and loathed it.

 Because love is looked down upon, people aren't having children. The only reason there are more children is because the government is 'producing' children. They've mastered the ability to 'grow' children in the lab.  After they are developed, they place the child with a guardian family.

 Even though it is highly looked down upon, there are few people that still believe in love. They still think that love is a good thing that over the years, outside factors caused for the end in marriages. Those types of people are either in prison, in hiding, or on an island off the coast of the United Kingdom.

 The idea of falling in love never once crossed my mind. My guardians look down upon love so horrible that they would often phone the police if they had any inkling as to someone they knew was falling in love. Never did I think that I was capable of the kind of love that people always whispered about. The idea didn't scare me. That is until he joined my class.  

 The day he walked into the classroom, was the day I became afraid.  

~*~

_ 3 February 3012 _

I was sat in maths class bored out of my mind, aimlessly doodling in the margins of my notebook. Louis, my best mate, had his head in the crook of his arms, snoring lightly as the teacher, Ms. Perkins, dragged on about the Pythagorean Theorem or some shit like that. The rest of our class was either sound asleep or falling quickly into the blissfulness of their dreams.

The dull monotone of Ms. Perkins voice weighed heavily on my eyelids. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before my head lulled against my notebook. My eyelids were drooping closed when a heavy knocking sounded from the door. The sharp pounding snapped my eyes back open. I silently cursed whoever was at the door for they just ruined what could have been my only 50 minute nap of the day.

I lifted my head off my desk as Ms. Perkins set her pen down and headed towards the door. I looked around to see some of the other lads, those that weren’t still sleeping silently, with confused expressions.

The wooden door creaked open. Ms. Perkins was having a quiet conversation with the person on the other side. It almost looked like she was flirting with the other person. Now that’s just nasty. It’s one thing to know that people can have sex whenever and with whomever, but that still doesn’t mean that the students should be subjected to witnessing a sad attempt at flirting.

Moments later Ms. Perkins stepped aside and a boy walked in. The lad was about our age, bleach blond hair, not terribly tall, kinda lanky. Whoever this guy was he had a cheeky grin plastered on his face and was giggling under his breath at the number of people sleeping in the class.

The lad looked around the room, surveying each of the students. His eyes had an intensity that I hadn’t seen before; it sent a shiver up my spine as he looked around at everyone. The guy didn’t look rude or asshole-ish, just curious. As his eyes landed on my desk, I caught his eyes. I sat there completely blank as his gave me a look over; it unnerved me to think that someone was sizing me up or something. Just as I was about to make some rude gesture, the lad smiled.

I don’t quite know why he smiled at me, but the way he did caused something to stir in me that I had never felt before. It was kinda of like my stomach twisting into knots, but in a good way. I had no idea what that meant, but it was good… I think.

A loud snore ripped out from the seat to my left. I looked over to see Louis still sleeping, drool dribbling out, making a small puddle on his desk. I chuckled at him, he always did this. I swear he could sleep anywhere with ease. I reached across the short space between our desks and gave him a little nudge to coax him out of his dream. I hadn’t realized how close he was to consciousness until he wigged out in his seat, tumbling to the floor with a load ‘oof’.

The room burst out into laughter as Louis lay sprawled out on the cold linoleum floor. Even the lad at the front was bent over with laughter. That was something different. Not the laughter in general, but how he sounded when he laughed. He had a full-hearted laugh, one that light up his entire facial expression, and that was louder than any other laugh I had heard.

Ms. Perkins looked back into the room of laughing students; she rolled her eyes, bidding the man at the door a farewell before strutting back into the room. She walked up and stood next to the blonde boy.

“Class, clam yourselves and Louis get back in your seat.” She said with little emotion in her voice.

Louis clambered back into his seat, still laughing about what just happened. That’s another thing about Lou, he doesn’t get embarrassed, he just goes along with it and laughs at his stupid moves.

“Alright now class, I’d like to introduce to you Niall Horan.” She said gesturing to the lad next to her “He’s a new student so please be friendly.”

Turning to Niall, she told him to find any available seat so she could continue on with her lesson. He nodded his head before turning back to the room in search of an available seat… or the _only_ available seat, which just so happened to be directly in front of mine.

The lad walked confidently down the aisle and slipped into the seat in front of me. There it was again, that weird tightening in my stomach. I don’t know what it was or why I was only getting this affect around the new guy. This was weird… maybe I’m just ill or something.

I looked down at my blank notebook, apart from the doodles that filled the margins. My mind began to wander thinking over everything I had done this morning. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, I got up, ate breakfast, walked to school, sat through all of my classes, now I’m sitting in my last class of the day. The only thing that changed was the arrival of Niall. Well, maybe this new guy was the one causing this feeling. But what does it mean?

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t even realize the note that lay on my desk until Louis made an obnoxious noise that caught everyone’s attention, except for our oblivious teacher.

**You alright mate? – L**

I looked over at Louis who was pretending he didn’t see me.

**yeh I’m fine. Why? – H**

**you seem … distant – L**

**just thinkin’ bout stuff – H**

**don’t do that you’ll hurt yourself – L**

**ass – H**

**I know – L**

I tucked the note into my notebook as the bell rang, releasing use from the hell hole of school.

“So what were you thinking about?” Louis asked as he collected his belongings off his desk.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not important.” I said to Louis. He didn’t need to know just yet what was going on. I wasn’t even sure I wanted him to know at all.

Louis shrugged as if my answer was satisfactory enough for him. We walked out of the building, heading towards Louis’ house to play some video games for a while. Louis was bouncing around, chatting about anything and everything.

“What do you think about the new guy, Niall?” he asked abruptly.

Shoving my hands deep into my pockets, trying to hide the fact that they were trembling as I contemplated what I actually thought of the new bloke. I mean, he seemed nice enough, but I didn’t really know anything about him. And then there was that something about him that caused the weird tightening in my stomach.

“I don’t know, he seems nice. I really don’t know enough about him to know really. But there’s something different about him that’s for sure.” I responded.

Louis nodded his head, smiling to himself. It didn’t take long before he was rambling on about the prank that he pulled in his English class.

__

I got home from Louis’ later than normal. My guardians didn’t mind that I stayed out late, the figured I was getting shagged or something. I never understood how people could go off and sleep with a random person and then never see them again. It didn’t seem right to me. But I guess that’s what made me so different.

I didn’t like spending a lot of time at home, my guardians usually wanted to talk to me about school, and the people I supposedly slept with or talk about the horrors of the world, and how I need to watch out. Occasionally they’d tell me about one of the people they knew who they suspected fell in love, those stories always ended in ‘they got what they deserved’. They honestly did care about me but they also pried a little too deep into my personal life, which I was not comfortable with.

So when Louis asked me to go to the club, I politely declined. Instead I went to the one place I could get peace in this messed up world; the park. Not many people went to the park anymore, they either didn’t have time, or didn’t care, or simply didn’t want to. Instead the tiny little park had been abandoned years ago, leaving it to be overgrown by vegetation.

I liked it because no one ever went here. It was quiet and allowed me to be by myself. To not worry about others judging me because I didn’t want to go clubbing ever night. I liked the park at night especially. It was dark enough that I could see the stars. Nobody ever takes the time anymore to see the natural beauty of this world. Everyone is so fast paced now that they don’t take time to appreciate things. But I did. I was different. I knew that and I preferred that.

When I got home, I went straight to bed. I was exhausted from the long day, and confused beyond belief. I figured that sleep would at least allow me to get some peace before the torture began all over again in the morning. I drifted off to sleep the second my head met my pillow.

_The roar of the water filled my ears. I looked out across the beach to see the sea stretch on for miles upon miles. The waves drove up the beach leaving shells and various sea creatures in its wake.  The sun hung high in the air, warming the beach around me. It was calming; I hadn’t been to the beach in years._

_“It’s lovely isn’t it.” a voice said beside me. I turned my head to see the smile of a certain blonde headed lad. His eyes glimmered as he looked out at the sea, so bright and full of life, no worries clouding his vision._

_Niall turned to look me in the eyes. He smiled his signature crocked smile._

_“Run away with me Hazza.” He whispered._

_I couldn’t respond. I didn’t know how to. He truly wanted me to run with him. To be free from societies judgments._

_I looked out at the sea again, this time seeing the island off in the distance. The island that people run away to. The one place that people can live free and love whomever without being judged._

_“Alright.” I whispered back. I wanted to be free. Niall could lead me to that freedom, he can show me what it’s like to love openly, to love without free of death. He can show me a whole new world._

_I looked at Niall again. He was smiling brighter than before. His hand reached up and cupped the side of my head. I leaned into his hand, relishing in the warmth and comfort of it. He leaned forward, our breathes mingling together. He moved forward, our lips a millimeter apart._

_His lips touched mine._

I sat bolt right up in bed. My alarm screaming out informing me to wake up. My breathing was coming heavy and my heart was thumping hard in my chest. Sweat was dripping off of me.

I don’t know where that dream came from, but it scared me.

~*~

_ 4 February 3012 _

I dragged myself into my first class. I was exhausted. Shuffling over to seat, I sat down with a thump, laying my head down into my arms.

“You look like hell.” A familiar voice said.

I looked up to see Louis seated in front of me. He was turned around in his chair, leaning his head against his hand.

“Long night.” I mumbled, burying my head back into my arms.

“Oh my god, please tell me you actually did something last night.” Louis asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at him, ignoring the comment. He knew better. He was the one person that knew that I didn’t go out sleeping with anything that moved. Although that still didn’t mean he agreed with my decisions.

“Do you wanna talk about it Harreh.” Louis said in a ridiculously high tone.

“No Loueeh, I don’t want to talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about anyway.” I replied mimicking Louis voice.

“Whatever.” Louis said acting as if he was hurt emotionally “Anyway, you should go to the club with me tonight. And before you say no, please just think it over. It’ll be a good time and you _really_ need to get out more.”

“Can’t I’m busy.” Harry responded automatically.

“Lies!”  Louis practically screamed into the class room that was slowly filling up with students. Some looked around to see what Louis was bellowing about this time, but others just ignored his odd antics as usual.

“I’m not lying; I’ve got to do some research for an assignment.” Harry said, the lie slipping easily out between his lips. It wasn’t entirely a lie; I was going to do research, just not for class.

Since I woke up that morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about my dream. Why was I seeing that? And was there something my mind knew about that I didn’t? I wanted to find out more about the dream itself, but the dream also sparked an interest in what had happened with the world to make that kind of relationship so frowned upon.

“God Harry you really need to do something for yourself for once.” Louis sighed shaking his head at me.

Luckily the bell rang, so Louis was forced to turn around and pretend he was paying attention to the lecture.

After 50 minutes of another boring lecture, I was relieved when the bell rang, releasing me from the class. I only had 2 classes with Louis, which meant for the rest of the day, I was free from Louis prying eyes… that is until maths class.

__

I walked into my math class with Louis trailing behind still harassing me about going to the club. I had learned to tune Louis out long ago so I wasn’t exactly listening to Louis’ reasons for why I should go and ‘be a normal person for a change’.

I took a seat at my usually desk. Louis sat beside me still yammering on about the club and how I’m such a bore to hang around with. I was completely ignoring Louis; instead I opened my notebook, continuing to draw in the margins.

When Louis’ complaints took a turn for the worse, I looked up to tell Louis to shove off again for probably the thousandth time when I noticed Niall entering the room. He had the same crocked smile on that he did yesterday. He walked over and plopped down in the seat in front of me. Louis noticed my staring, so he took that as an incentive to start a conversation with the new lad.

“Niall.” He said to capture the boy’s attention.

Niall turned around in his seat smiling as usual. Louis stuck his hand out

“Hi there mate, I’m Louis.” He said as Niall took his hand in his own shaking it. “And this sad excuse of a best friend is Harry.” He said point at me. I rolled my eyes at Louis before turning to Niall.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I said as calmly as my voice would allow, sticking my hand out towards Niall. When he took my hand I felt I bolt of electricity course through my body. I almost jerked my hand out of Niall’s at the weird feeling, but was able to refrain from doing so.

Niall smiled deeper “Nice to meet you too.”

Just when I thought Niall was going to say something else, the bell rang signaling for class to start.

“Talk at ya later mates.” Niall mused before turning around to face the front of the class.

Something about Niall seemed off. He talked in a British accent, but it almost sounded forced. Like he was trying to sound British. But even with that he still seemed very genuine. Everything about Niall screamed kind and friendly. He gave of this aura that just pulled everyone in.

I liked Niall. He seemed really nice. It just left me more confused than ever about everything from the tightening in my stomach to the dream I had last night.

~*~

_ 5 – 7 February 3012 _

It was a struggle to go through the rest of the week. I hadn’t been able to find anything in my research about dreams, or what the weird sensations I was feeling meant. Everything was so scattered about that I was beginning to feel like I was in some sick game show that people watch just to see the contestant lose their mind.

Sleep was always a place where my mind would be free to relax and restart itself after a long day, but lately all I’ve been dreaming about was Niall. I had the same dream every night for the past week. It was always the same too. I was always on the beach with Niall; he’d always ask me to run away with him which I always agreed to. Then there was the sorta kiss thing, but every time his lips touched mine, I always woke up. Every time I woke, my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest and the sweat that poured off of me was enough to drown a person.

After those dreams I always felt physically drained, like it took my body’s entire willpower to show me the same damn thing over and over again.

School was shit. But what’s new there. The teachers always droned on about something we didn’t care about. I began falling asleep more often during class, but each time I did, I would always have the dream. I would later be woken by the bell. No one thought anything was strange when I would bolt upright after the bell sounded, bring me out of the dream.

No one noticed anything different. They all just went on as usual, ignoring me as if I never existed. Louis didn’t even notice anything different, other than the fact that I was tired a lot more. He stopped noticing that I would lose interest faster, or how my mind would wander while he was talking to me. He probably thought that it was nothing new, that I was always like this.

Each day I would see Niall. He would always be there in my math class, either drawing in his notebook or catching a quick nap. He never really talked to me. He would just nod in acknowledgment whenever he came into the room. The same crooked grin stretched across his face.

I found my mind wandering to him more often than not. I don’t know why, it just would. Like I would just be sitting there, half listening to a lecture, and something the teacher said would remind me of the blonde headed lad. I wanted to know more about him, but at the same time I didn’t.

Niall was different. Not like how I’m different, but something about him is definitely unusual.

~*~

_ 8 February 3012 _

It was a Saturday, one of the few days’ I get to relax and unwind. Saturday’s are also the day’s that I’m always alone. Louis’ always off finding poor innocent girls to seduce. While my guardians were off… well basically doing the same.

With my lack of ‘seducing’ wants, I always found myself alone. It was fine by me, I actually preferred my alone time. Everyone was always up in my face about everything and anything, so the one time a week where I didn’t have to be pestered by anyone; well I was going to take full advantage of it. And when I say that, I mean sleep tell noon, eat everything I can while watching boring television, and then walk to the park so I could watch the stars pop up through the thick black sky one by one.

As I set down what had to have been the fifth bowl of cereal that day, I stood up, feeling the weight of the food resting heavy in my stomach. It was getting rather late and I hadn’t heard form a single soul all day.

Slipping on a pair of Toms and a hoddie, I walked out of my house into the crisp night air.

As I walked down the familiar streets to the park, I watched people working on making their own night happen. I saw several people stumble out of pubs and restaurants, giggling profusely as they were intoxicated heavily. Walking past alleyways, I could hear the distant groans and moans of people not patient enough to get to their own homes.

It absolutely disgusted me. Why is this society that we live in based largely on sex? Yet society believes that love is a sin. It seemed hypocritical to me.

I shook my head, trying to banish the noises and the people around me. I just wanted to get to the park so I could get lost in my own world.

I rounded the corner, stepping over a bushel of leaves and foliage, to find myself in the park that I loved so much.

Everything was as it always was. The abandoned jungle gym in the middle, completely overtake by vines and bushes. Several benches lined the perimeter where parents used to sit, watching their children run around having fun. And my personal favorite was the swings that sat perched off to the side of the jungle gym. There were vines winding up the sides of the poles, but other than that, they worked perfectly.

I sat down on one of the swings, dangling my feet down, pushing back and forth barely. The slight sway of the swing was relaxing and the cool grip of the chains beneath my fingers was nice. This playground reminded me of what society should be like.

Sometimes when I was feeling really down, I would come to this park and imagine what life used to be like. What it was like 1000 years ago, when children were born, instead of being ‘grown’. What it was like to have parents who loved you, who cared for you well-being, instead of just being there to put food in the refrigerator. Sometimes I wanted that. I wanted to be a child who was conceived through love, and was loved and cherished.

A rustle of bushes broke me out of my thoughts. I didn’t think anything of it; it was probably just a dog or cat wondering through. I looked up towards the sky to see it speckled with bright stars.

“Have you ever wondered what it was like in space?” a voice asked from behind me.

I jumped when I heard the voice, almost toppling out of the swing I was sat on. I turned around to see Niall looking up at the stars; his eyes shimmering brightly even in the darkness of night.

“Occasionally.” I answered honestly.

I felt my heart race at the sight of Niall. I still didn’t understand what it meant, but I was starting to get the indication that it was a good thing.

“Space is very underrated now a days, huh? People just don’t take the time to appreciate the natural beauty.” Niall said still peering up at the night sky.

“That’s what I always said.”

Niall looked down at me, smiling so bright that it made me forget that it was nighttime. I gripped the chains of the swing harder, my heart rate spiking to an all time high as Niall beamed at me.

“Mind if I sit with you?” he asked

I nodded my head. Niall took a seat in the lone swing beside me; he pushed back slightly, lifting his legs from the ground, swinging back and forth.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked while he moved back and forth on the swing.

“I could ask you the same.” I said.

Niall chuckled. I heard the underlying something that laced his accent. Once again I thought there was something he was hiding. But it didn’t matter.

“No but really, why are you out here. From the looks of it, you’re probably the only one who comes here.” He was slowing down on the swing, coming to a gently pace as he looked at me waiting for an answer.

“I guess ‘cause I like to be alone. I’m not like everyone else in this town. I’d rather do my own thing, than be surrounded by people.”

Niall was looking up at the sky again, listening to me speak.

“I could tell when I met you that you were different. But I like that. This town seems to be filled with only one kind of people. The loud, in your face kind of people. So when I met you, it was kind of like a breath of fresh air. I wish more people were as independent as you.” Niall spoke passionately. I could tell he meant it, and that made me…. Well happy. Someone was finally accepting me as me. Louis didn’t even do that all the time even though he’s my best friend.

“I know what you mean.” I mumbled under my breath. I was also tired of the people in this town. They either accepted you, or they didn’t. And I wasn’t accepted they way they wanted. I didn’t do as they did, so that made me an outcast.

“Hey Harry?”

Niall said my name in a way that made my skin crawl; he said it with seriousness, which I hadn’t seen from him yet.

I turned my head to look at Niall. He was look at me with a new intensity, his eyes darker than before, but still shining with life.

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever wish you could go back in time and make it so our society never changed?” Niall asked.

I didn’t even think over the question, ‘cause I already knew the answer. It was something I had thought of many times before.

“Yeah, I do.”

~*~

_ 10 – 13 February 3012 _

After the day I talked with Niall in the park, we became really good friends. By the time Monday rolled around, I was actually excited to go to school for a change. Just the prospect of seeing the bouncy blonde headed lad made going to that hell pit actually worth it.

At first Louis was rather confused about my new friendship with Niall, but by Tuesday, he invited Niall over to his house to play games. When Niall beat him 3 out of 4 games of FIFA, Louis was practically begging Niall to come over more often so he could ‘whip his ass’ at the game.

But overall, it was great to see Louis, who’s been my friend since we were kids, and Niall, who sparked some light into my life, getting along so well.

However once Thursday hit, I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. Louis had been pestering me again about going clubbing with him, which I politely declined each time. When Louis asked Niall to go, Niall also declined his offer. Once Louis figured out that Niall was just as weird as I was, he just screamed in irritation. He kept babbling on about Niall and I being alike, both complete loons.

~*~

_ 14 February 3012 _

It was a typical Friday, nothing exciting was going on, we were just excited that it was a Friday and we could finally spend our weekend doing nothing but relaxing. Normally on Fridays, Lou and I would go downtown and spend the evening walking around, stuffing our gob with anything that looked slightly edible. However today, Louis had some ‘important business’ to attend to, but I knew it wasn’t that important when he hopped into his car and a lanky brunette stepped into the passenger seat.

That just left me and Niall to wander around by ourselves. Without even realizing where we were headed, we soon found ourselves in the rundown park.

As we stepped into the patchy grass, Niall walked over and plopped down underneath an old willow tree. He stretched his thin body out, resting his arms behind his head, staring up at the swaying branch.

I followed behind shortly after, leaning up against the tree trunk. I looked over at Niall to see his eyes closed. I looked over his body, noticing the way his shirt tugged up slightly, revealing the smooth skin below. My cheeks became warm. I looked away hoping the blush would fade.

“Hey Haz?” Niall said beside me. I looked over to see he still hadn’t opened his eyes.

“Hmm?”

“You know what today is?” he asked.

I racked my brain, looking for the date, and seeing if there was anything significant about this day, but came up with nothing.

“Err, no. Why, what’s today?” I said.

“It’s Valentine’s Day.”

Valentine’s Day? What the hell was that?

“What exactly is Valentine’s Day?” I asked. I had never heard of this day before, and it sounded rather odd to me.

Niall opened his eyes and looked at me, amazed that I didn’t know what today was.

“You’ve never heard of Valentine’s Day?” He said shocked

I shook my head.

“Wow, this place really is fucked up.” Niall voiced shaking his head. “Valentine’s Day was a holiday that was huge a long time ago. Essentially, it was a day where people would remind those around them that they loved them.”

When I heard Niall say that, my eyes shoot up. I had only heard people tell us how bad love is, but to hear that there once was a day that was all about love, it really confused me.

“People would go out and buy heart shaped sweets and flowers and they’d give it to the people that they loved. But I guess long ago, once people stopped loving each other, it slowly faded out.” Niall said finishing off his statement.

“Wow… how do you know about that?” I asked.

When I asked the question, Niall tensed up.

“I… um… my guardian’s told me about it. Old stories I guess.” He mumbled out.

“Hmm, weird that I’ve never heard of it.” I said lying down on the dewy grass.

“Probably because the world doesn’t want people to know about it.” Niall said looking back up towards the sky.

I followed his gaze and watched as the thin branches of the willow swayed softly against the slight breeze. It was slightly hypnotizing watching the tree.

“Hey Niall?” I asked when a thought came to me.

“Hmm?” He mumbled beside me.

“What… what do think of love?” I asked tentatively.

Niall just sat there quietly for a moment before he spoke again.

“I don’t know to be honest. We’re always told it’s such a horrible thing, but are they really sure it’s as bad as they say it is. I think that people jumped to a conclusion way back when and didn’t think of the consequences, which in turn led to the way things are today. Completely, and utterly fucked up.”

I thought through Niall’s words. What he said made sense, how could people say love’s such a bad thing, when they’ve never experienced it before. People really did jump to the first easy thing that came their way, and it really did lead our world astray.

“I think so too.” I whispered, closing my eyes, feeling the soft breeze brush against my cheeks.

~*~

_ 22 February 3012 _

A week rolled by and nothing changed. I’m still going to school. I still have to sit through dumb ass classes. I still go to Louis’ after class to hang out. Sometimes Niall tags alone, sometimes he doesn’t. Nothing changed.

By Saturday afternoon, I’m still lying in a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt, lounging around watching the telly. I was flipping through the channels, not surprised when nothing good was on, when the doorbell rang.

I wasn’t expecting any one, and I hardly doubt it would be Louis. I stood up, adjusting my shirt as I walked towards the door.

I opened the door to be faced with a smiling blonde headed lad.

“Hey Niall. What’re you doing here?” I asked.

Niall rocked back and forth on his feet as he spoke “just thought you’d like some company.” He said flashing another dazzling smile.

I stepped aside, gesturing for Niall to come inside. He walked inside, kicking his shoes off by the door.

“Is anyone else here?” he asked turning around to face me.

“No, just me. Anne and Robin are gone… as usual.”

Niall smirked at me.

“I bet you like it that way.” Niall joked

I chuckled at him shaking my head as I headed back into the living room. I sank down into the couch, Niall alongside me. I turned to face him and was struck by how he looked. He seemed… agitated.

“Why are you really here Niall?” I asked

He turned to his head to the ground, not wanting to look me in the eyes.

“Why not.” He mumbled. He was fumbling around with his hands.

“Well, you said that you were going to spend the entire day sleeping, but you’re here.”

“I just want to talk is all. If that’s ok.” Niall murmured looking up at me. His eyes were vulnerable. Niall was always a happy go lucky person, never one to show any weakness. Seeing that look in his eye told me that there was something not right.

I turned my whole body to face Niall “Yeah sure.”

Niall took a ragged breath before speaking

“Well I just thought that I could talk to you ‘cause we’re a lot alike and stuff. And I just need to talk to someone about it.” Niall paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before speaking again “Harry, how much do you actually know about me?”

I was surprised when Niall posed the question. But I was even more surprised when I knew very little about my friend.

“Uh, I know you’re very independent. And that that’s not your real color hair.” I said, joking about the hair comment.

Niall laughed at that.

“Well there’s a lot more to me that just that.” he said. But when he said it, his voice sounded different. It didn’t sound strained or forced. It sounded relaxed… and something else. His accent had changed all together.

“Did you know I’m actually Irish? That I put on this fake British accent so people won’t know.” He said letting his Irish accent shine through.

“But… how?” I stammered

“Long story. But basically, I was originally from Ireland. When I was about 6 is when the war started over there.”

The Irish war. Of course. Ireland had long ago shut down its borders from other countries. They saw the change that was happening to the world, and they wanted no part in it. So to ensure their citizens safety, they closed down the borders. Around 12 years ago, Ireland and the U.K. got into some war between each other. No one really knows why, but what we do know is the majority of the Irish population is now dead.

“My parents. Oh, that’s another thing. I have parents. I was born. I think I heard people call me a ‘love child’ but whatever. Anyway, as soon as the war broke out, my parents and I fled. We knew it was going to be a bad war, so we ran to the nearest safe place we could find. And that just so happened to be that huge island off the coast. You know the one that people here run away to.”

I nodded my head indicating that I knew where he was talking about.

“Right so we moved there. I lived there for the longest time, just my parents and I. I never knew any other life to be honest. I was always surrounded by amazing kinds of people. But what makes this so different is I was always surrounded by people who loved each other. I grew up seeing what love was. I loved to be honest. I loved my parents so much. I still do. But when I came here, everyone looked down on love so much that I just didn’t understand.”

Niall was getting lost in his speech. His eyes had glazed over as he recalled his life before.

“I didn’t want to come here. But I had no choice. Around a year ago, I was sat in my house when one of the elders of the village came over. He told me that something had happened to my parents. Later on I found out they were dead. No one would tell me what happened either. That’s the hard part; not knowing what happened. After that, some of the people in our village thought it would be best if I went to England to live. They got me ready, and a few days later, I found myself here.

“I didn’t know what to do at first. I basically wander around a long time. Then I stumbled into this town. I wasn’t sure why, but I knew that this is where I needed to be. So I found this small place to stay; luckily my parents still had some money which they left for me, which I was given so I could buy the house. I still live there, and I enrolled in school. Then I met you, and here we are today.”

I sat there wide-eyed at Niall’s story. I hadn’t known any of that and there would have been no way I could have guessed even half of it.

When Niall finally looked up at me, he saw my shocked expression. He must have taken it as a bad thing ‘cause he clamped his hand over his mouth and stood up, rushing to the door. Only he didn’t quite make it to the door ‘cause I sprung up, catching his arm before he could leave. I pulled him into an embrace.

He was rigged and scared beneath my arms.

“That makes so much more sense.” I whispered to him.

As he heard the calm tone of my voice, he relaxed substantially, wrapping his arms around me to hug me back.

~*~

_ 1 March 3012 _

Days began to blend into each other. Each day flying by faster than the other. Before I knew it, it was Sunday evening. Anne and Robin were out per usual. I had just finished my homework that was due the next day.

My mobile that was sat perched on my dresser, rang. I walked over and saw Niall’s name on the caller-id.

“Hey mate, what’s up?” I said answering the phone.

“Hey Haz, you busy?” he spoke excitedly

“No, not at all.”

“Great meet me at the park in 5.” Niall said before hanging up. I didn’t even have a chance to reply. I sighed, setting the phone back down.

Niall was so weird, he always wanted to do random things at random time, and the park had turned into our meeting spot.

I didn’t even have to think over whether or not I wanted to go. If it involved hanging out with Niall, I would be there. I slipped out of the house and into the dark night.

About 5 minutes later, I was standing in the park waiting for Niall.

“Harry, over here.” Niall said in his Irish accent from behind some trees.

That’s something that changed since Niall told me about himself. Because I knew the truth, Niall didn’t see any reason to hide anything from me. Whenever we hung out together and it was just use two, he would speak with his natural accent. I honestly liked it a lot. It wasn’t like any other voice I heard, and I could listen to him all day.

I walked over to where Niall stood, my hands shoved deep in my pockets, hiding them from the cool night air.

“What are we doing?” I asked

“You’ll see.” Niall said mysteriously. He turned around and headed back the way he came.

I followed behind, picking up my pace to fall into step alongside him. We walked for several minutes in silence. The only noises around use were those of cars and music filtering out of pubs. We were walking farther out of town than normal, and I still had no idea where we were going.

“Niall, where are we going?” I asked.

He just turned and smirked at me, not answering my question.

We kept walking, moments later Niall was walking off the path and up a hill. It was too dark out to tell where we were.

Niall stopped at the peak of the hill. I caught up with him, standing by his side. I looked out beyond the hill and caught a glimpse that took my breath away. Beyond the hill stood the small town of Holmes Chapel, it glittered with the lights of the town and it was astounding to see it look so beautiful.

“Well?”

“It’s… it’s beautiful.” I said breathless because of the view I didn’t know existed.

Turning around, Niall sunk down to the ground, lying on his back with his arms behind his head. I followed Niall’s lead, lying down beside him.

I looked up at the sky and lost my breath again. I always loved the night sky, but right now, the stars shown brighter than I’d ever seen. And there were so many stars that spotted the sky that it astounded me, I had never seen so many stars before.

“Wow…” I breathed out.

I heard Niall giggle. His little laugh put a smile on my face.

We laid there for a long time, just watching the stars. It was so peaceful out here. My eyes were slipping close when they caught sight of a swift movement flying through the sky.

“Did you see that?” Niall exclaimed pointing up to the sky. “It was a shooting star! Quick, make a wish.”

I closed my eyes and thought hard of a wish.

_I wish to be free._

~*~

_ 6 March 3012 _

After classes on Friday, I invited Niall over to my house. Louis had been… distant lately, so our plans were off… again.

Niall accepted my invitation with a grin. As we began walking towards my house, it started to rain on us. I knew that the forecast had called for rain, but I thought they meant a drizzle, not an all out downpour.

Once we finally got to my house, we were sopping wet. When we walked inside, Anne was walking past the door. She saw us both dripping wet. She frowned as her carpet began to get drenched.

I noticed that she was confused to see Niall. They had yet to meet, and right now wasn’t the most ideal situation.

“Hi Anne.” I said before Niall and I scurried off towards my room to get out of our wet clothes.

Lucky for Niall, we both wore relatively the same size so he was able to borrow some of my clothes. As we stood in my childhood bedroom, changing out of our wet clothes, I felt it again. I felt the familiar flutter in my stomach, and the race of my heart. And this time I knew why I was feeling this way.

I had just placed a dry shirt on when I twisted around to see Niall putting on one of my t-shirts. The smooth pale skin of his back brought heat to my cheeks. Niall turned around and caught me staring. I thought he would have made a funny comment, but he didn’t. And that’s when it happened.

He smiled at me.

With that smile, all those feelings crashed through my body like I had been hit by a truck.

I knew then that there was something more than just a friendship between Niall and I. I just didn’t know what.

__

After we both changed, I led Niall out to the living room where Anne was sitting on the couch watching the telly. She looked up as we entered the room. She was still frowning at the sight of Niall, but didn’t say anything.

“Anne, this is Niall. Niall this is my guardian Anne.” I introduced the two.

Anne outstretched her hand, grasping Niall’s in her own, shaking it.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Niall smiled at Anne. She smiled back, but it was forced. I doubt Niall caught that, it had taken me years to figure out when she was being sincere or not.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. If you don’t mind me asking, are you new here?” She asked eying Niall warily.

Niall didn’t panic, or tense up at the question. He just smoothly answered, the lying falling easily from his lips.

“Yes I am actually, I just moved up from London a little under 5 weeks ago.”

Well that wasn’t entirely a lie, he was new; he just didn’t come from London.

“And are your guardians with you?” Anne was getting nosy. She always did this; she had to pry into everything, getting out every last detail.

“Yes they are.”

Anne pursed her lips, but nodded her head.

“Well, anyway it was nice to meet you Niall.” Anne said standing up. She turned and faced me “and Harry, Robin and I are headed to Manchester for the weekend, so be good.”

“Of course.” I said thankful that they would be leaving for the weekend.

“We’ll be back late Sunday.” Anne said before walking out the front door.

__

For the rest of the evening, Niall and I either stuffed our gobs with food, or screwed around on the X Box.

At half to 1, we finally made out way into my room to crash for the night.

I was lying on my bed, my eyelids falling heavily. Niall was outstretched on the floor beside the bed.

“Thank you Harry.” Niall whispered.

I forced my eyes open a little. “For what.” I mumbled.

“For being such a great friend.” Niall said, sleep heavy in his voice.

Minutes flew by, both of us drowsy and falling asleep.

“Hey Niall?” I whispered not sure if he was asleep yet or not.

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you come sleep in the bed with me? It’s cold on the floor.” I said fully aware of what I was doing.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Ok.” Niall said clambering up off the floor and onto the bed. He shimmied beneath the covers, his head falling next to mine on the pillow. It was warmer with Niall beside me… and it was nice. It was nice to have someone beside me.

I shut my eyes, allowing sleep to overtake me. A brush of skin touched my hand. It sent a jolt up my arm, coursing through my body. But it was good. It was a good feeling.

I felt the touch of skin again. This time, I felt the shape of Niall’s fingers next to mine. Relishing in the touch, I moved my hand closer to Niall’s.

He didn’t pull away. But I felt his hand twitch in recognition. Then I felt his hand intertwine with mine. My whole body exploded with the touch. I loved it. The warmth of Niall’s hand in mine.

I held his hand back with mine and it felt right. It felt like the most right thing in the world.

As my mind drifted off to sleep, with my hand still holding Niall’s, I heard Niall whisper goodnight to me before sleep completely overtook my mind.

~*~

_ 7 March 3012 _

After Niall and I woke up the next morning, we just screwed around for the majority of the day. We were far too lazy to go into town, so instead we sat around and played games for awhile.

Around 8:45 that night, we were stretched out on the living room floor, listening to the dull sound from the television.

“Have you been to a party before?” Niall asked

“Yeah I’ve gone to maybe like 2 before. Mostly ‘cause Louis dragged me along.” I answered resting my head against the soft carpet.

Niall sat up. His slender arms curling around his legs as he sat there staring off into space.

“Ahh those kinds of parties.” He muttered

I rolled over onto my side, looking at Niall confused.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked

Niall looked over at me with mischief in his eyes.

“Well if you get off your bum I can show you where the fun _actually_ is.” Niall said standing up.

I huffed out wanting to ignore Niall’s playful manor, but I couldn’t. Reluctantly I got up off the floor and followed Niall out of my house.

__

Niall was leading us much farther out into the countryside. I no longer could see the lights of the town, instead all I saw were various houses scattered about the lone road.

As the road became less populated, I could start to hear the distant sound of music playing. The lights started coming into view as we grew closer.

Once we were close enough to the party, I could see the people mulling about outside. The thing I noticed first was the way the people interacted. Some stood outside the barn, just talking in groups. The people were smiling and laughing. They weren’t clinging to each other, desperate for any physical contact.

When Niall and I entered the barn, we were handed a cup of beer. I never really drank alcohol, but I had tasted it before. And with one look around the barn, filled to the brim with dancing bodies, I chugged down the beer without a second guess.

I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol that’s for sure. Not even 10 minutes after I chugged back my drink, I was starting to feel the effects. Niall was smiling and chatting with people we didn’t know. It put a grin on my face to see him so excited and happy. I looked out at the dance floor to see people pressed together, dancing freely.

Niall must have caught me watching ‘cause he was pulling me into the crowd before I could protest.

People surround us from all around, hot, sweaty bodies, lively and dancing as if there were no tomorrow.

The music was loud, but I liked it. I found myself swaying awkwardly in the crowd of people. Niall was in front of me, he smirked at my awkwardness. He stepped closer to me, his arm sliding to my back, pulling me closer.

He was so close. I could feel Niall’s body pressed firmly against mine, his hand resting on my back. My eyes slipped closed as I registered the feeling. It wasn’t just a nice feeling, it was an amazing feeling.

I felt a mouth graze my ear, whispering to me.

“Just relax and let loose.”

And that’s what I did. With Niall’s arms pulling me closer, I broke free and let loose.

It may have been the alcohol, or maybe it was what I wanted, but I slipped my own arm onto Niall’s back, tugging him even closer, while the other wrapped around his neck.

We danced like that. Just us two pressed together, dancing to the loud music, without a care in the world. It wasn’t awkward or weird, it was right.

This is what I wanted. I wanted this feeling forever. I think that dancing with Niall, being so close to him was what brought the thought into my mind. But that moment was when I realized that I _liked_ Niall. I liked him more than a friend. I wanted to stay with him and be with him.

I should have been scared… but I wasn’t.

~*~

_ 8 March 3012 _

Niall and I spent the entire night dancing away in the barn, by the time we got back into town, it was 5am. We were exhausted. When we got to the park, Niall went his own way back to his house, while I headed back towards mine.

As I lay in my bed, my mind kept wandering back to the party. I kept thinking about the way it felt to have Niall’s arms around me, holding me tight. I felt free.

I slipped off into a sweet sleep with a smile on my face.

__

I woke up around 7 at night. It was dark outside and the rain had just started.

I had the dream again. But I didn’t see it as a nightmare anymore; I saw it as a beautiful dream. I didn’t wake up in a terror this time; I woke up in a peaceful state of mind.

I heard the clatter of dishes somewhere off in the house.

I pulled myself out of bed and wandered into the kitchen to find Anne and Robin sat at the dining table. They looked up when I entered the kitchen. Robin smiled at me. Anne frowned.

“Oh Harry there you are.” Anne said sweetly.

My brows scrunched in confusion.

“Were you looking for me?”

Anne’s frowned deepened.

“Yes actually, we wanted to talk to you.” Anne said gesturing between her and Robin. Robin gave me an apologetic look while Anne remained blank.

I walked over and sat down at the table with my two guardians. They looked at me as if I were some brand new kid, like someone they never knew. Which in reality wasn’t that far off.

“We wanted to talk to you about your friend, Niall.” Anne stated.

My stomach sank at the mention of Niall. If Anne wanted to talk about him, it couldn’t be good.

“There’s something off about him. And I’m worried that he could be a bad influence on you.” She said

I smirked, shaking my head at her thick headedness.

“You’re joking right. Niall wouldn’t hurt a fly. And I don’t see anything wrong with him.” I said defending my friend.

“I don’t know Harry; there have been rumors going around town.”

I must have looked confused ‘cause Robin piped in to explain.

“There’s a rumor that a ‘love child’ is in our town. No one knows who it is, but Anne thinks its Niall because he’s new here.”

“That’s just a rumor.” I said “You can’t trust everything you hear.”

“Exactly.” Anne said with a deadly look.

“Well I’m not going to stop being Niall’s friend just because you two are afraid he’s some rumored ‘love child’. That’s ridiculous.”

“Harry we do not want you to see him again.” Anne said firmly.

I shook my head. I had never argued with my guardians before, but right now they were being unreasonable. They didn’t know a thing. They probably thought that Niall would corrupt the whole town if he could. But that’s the thing, Niall wouldn’t hurt anyone. I don’t think he’s even capable of harm.

I pushed back out of my seat.

“I’m not going to stop seeing him. He’s my friend and that’s all. You two can worry about your own lives while I worry about mine.” I snapped.

I walked away before they could say anything else.

~*~

_ 14 March 3012 _

For some unknown reason, Anne had decided to stay in for the weekend. If Anne was going to be there the entire time, I sure as hell wasn’t. So instead, I went to Niall’s. It was the first time I had been to his house.

It was a small white house with one bed room, a bath, kitchen and living room. It wasn’t huge, but it was enough. It was comfortable and homey. Everything in the house screamed Niall which is why I felt so comfortable in it.

Niall walked into the small living room caring a mound of blankets and a couple small, flat cases. He carried all of it over to the couch, dumping them except for the cases. He sat down on the pile of blankets looking at me with a smile.

“Ok, your choice, what do you want to watch?” Niall asked showing me the cases he was holding. In his hand were old movies, one titled _The Notebook_ the other _Titanic_.

I had never heard of the movies before, probably because they were destroyed years ago, or because they were so old that no one cared about them anymore.

“You decide, I’ve never heard of them before.” I said. Niall looked at me in shook that I hadn’t heard of the movies. He took one quick glance at the disks before deciding on the _Titanic_.

He placed the disk into the vintage DVD player. The menu screen popped up and Niall pressed play before sitting down again. He shoved some of the blankets at me, which I gratefully took and wrapped around myself.

The film stated playing. I didn’t understand what was going on at first, but as the movie went on, I was completely captivated by it. Sure it was an older movie, but it was really good.

Niall and I were squished together on the small couch, covered in blankets, watching the film. As we watched the film, I place my head on Niall’s shoulder. He didn’t jerk away of anything; instead he just wrapped his arm around my shoulder as the movie played on.

“What is she doing?” I asked at one point during the movie. The main character Rose was running through the ship trying to find some to remove the handcuffs from Jack, the love interest.

“She’s trying to save him. See she loves him and will do anything to save him. Even if that puts her own life at risk.” Niall said quietly.

That surprised me honestly. I hadn’t heard of anyone doing that for another person. It was amazing to see such love for another person, even if it was just a movie.

_I wonder if Niall would do that for me._ I thought to myself. But of course, would I do that for Niall? Would I risk my own life for his? I didn’t know, but I did know that I would protect him if I ever had to.

The movie played on. We watched as Rose and Jack tried to stay on the boat for as long as they could while it plunged into the dark waters. We saw them in the freezing cold water. We watched as Rose laid on the door, with Jack in the water, protecting her from death.

I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt Niall’s soft thumb brush against my skin. I looked up at him to see tears in his eyes as well. There was so much emotion in Niall’s eyes that I lost myself in them. I stared into his eyes, not caring what the world said about all of this. They may say it’s wrong, but it’s not.

Niall broke our gaze, only to lift his head and press a gentle kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes, feeling his soft lips brush against my skin. I’m sure I was beat red, but it didn’t care. I place my head in the crook of Niall’s neck, breathing in his sweat smell.

This was so right, so why did everyone tell me it was so wrong.

~*~

_ 21 March 3012 _

For the past few weeks, Anne has been extra… present. She’s been making more appearances in my life and trying to talk whenever she can. She wanted a reason to call the police on Niall, but I wasn’t about to give her one.

Instead I stayed out as long as I could. I would go out with Niall, and by the time I got back, her and Robin would be asleep.

Today, Niall and I planned to go to the beach. We wanted to get as far away from Holmes Chapel for the day as we could, while still having a good time that is. So we decided to head down to the beach. The weather was supposed to be nice, but it’s England, so anything could happen.

At 7 in the morning, Niall met me outside my house, in his car to drive us to the beach. After an hour drive, Niall and I were in the town of Hoylake.

Niall must have known where to go ‘cause he found us a nice spot, close to the water, not to crowded where we could just sit back and relax.

Together we spent the day mucking around the beach. The water was a little too cold for our liking, so we stayed mostly on land. We kicked around a football, laughing and joking around.

Later in the evening, we walked around the town looking for some cheap food to stuff our faces with. We were delighted when we found what had to be the best seafood place in all of England.

We were both sitting on the sand overlooking the beach. The Irish Sea outstretched for miles, it glittered as the sun was beginning to set over us. The water splashed against the rocks calmly. The sun cast a beautiful orange glow on the beach.

I wasn’t sure why, but I had a strange sense of déjà vu.

“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” Niall said beside me.

When I heard his voice, a chill went through my body. I looked over at Niall to see him staring out at the sea with an easy smile. He was happy and carefree in that moment. My voice stuck in my throat, I couldn’t make out any words because the realization hit me full force.

I was living out the dream. The dream that I had been having since Niall first entered into the classroom, it was finally happening. I didn’t even have to guess what happened next, because I already knew.

“Run away with me Hazza.” Niall whispered.

Another shiver ran through my spine. I knew I would answer. I didn’t even need the dream to tell me that. I knew what I wanted. I wanted Niall and I wanted to be free. He could give me that. All of that.

“Alright.” I whispered back.

Niall beamed brighter than before. Even brighter than in the dream. He leaned closer to me and cupped the side of my head. His thumb ran across my cheekbones. His eyes were bright and caring as he leaned forward. Our breaths mingled together, warm against my skin.

He leaned forward more, tentatively, seeing if this was what I wanted. I moved closer, pressing our foreheads together. We were so close.

I don’t know who moved forward first, but our lips were touching. We were kissing. His lips were so soft moving against mine. It was such a caring, protective kiss, one that was laced with… well love.

I could tell by the touch of Niall’s lips on mine that he loved me. He cared deeply about me.

And I knew then that I loved him too.

I never thought I was capable to love, but with Niall, it came so naturally. I loved him.

__

After our kiss, Niall drove us back to Holmes Chapel. We had decided to leave England and run to the island the next day. We didn’t want to take a chance of someone finding out about our plans; therefore we decided to leave as soon as we could.

Niall dropped me off at my house. He promised to pick me up tomorrow around 7pm. We planned to leave during the night, when there was fewer people to catch us.

I wanted so badly to kiss Niall goodnight, but I couldn’t.

I walked up the steps into my house. I was still excited and happy about everything, but when I walked into the house, my expression fell.

Anne was sitting and waiting. She was waiting for me to come home. And by the look on her face, it wasn’t good.

I shut the door behind me. I walked into the living room; Anne still hadn’t said a word.

I sat down across from her, waiting to hear what she had to say.

“He’s a ‘love child’.” She said hatred fused with her voice.

I rolled my eyes not wanting to get into this argument again.

“Sure.” I mumbled not giving her any indication that she was actually right.

“I’m not lying Harry. I know he is. The whole town knows he is.”

“How?” I was annoyed. My own guardian was turning on me because I was friends with a ‘love child’.

“I did some research. I found his birth information online. He was born in Ireland, before the war. He was _born_ Harry. He’s a disease. He can’t be trusted. If he was a child of love, than he’s capable of love himself.” She spat out.

Of course, I should have known. When Anne didn’t like something, she looked into everything to make sure she was right.

“So what! So are you saying that the people who are born are the only ones capable of love? What does that have to do with anything?” I was screaming now, completely pissed at Anne for doing this.

“It’s known that ‘love children’ are the only ones who can love. They will corrupt and destroy everything. Those of us who were ‘grown’ don’t love Harry. We just don’t, we know better.”

“I don’t believe that. We’re still human, that means we can still love.” I said coldly.

“No it doesn’t.” Her anger range out through the house, it was cold and hatred all in one.

“That’s what you think.” I said. I turned and walked away from the one person who was there my entire life.

"Where do you think you're going?" Anne asked with a snide tone.

"Home." I replied

"What are you talking about, you are home."

"No I’m not."

"Ok." She argued "then where is home?" I turned back towards Anne and looked her straight in the eye

"Where ever he is." I said before I turned my back on her and left.

__

When I stepped out of the house, I pulled out my mobile and rang up Niall.

The phone rang twice before it was answered.

“Harry, what’s up?” Niall said. He was still happy and oblivious to what had just gone on.

“She knows.” I said my voice trembling.

Niall was silent for a moment. I heard some rustling in the background. “I’ll come get you. Meet me at the park. I’ll right there.” Niall said hurriedly.

I hung up the phone, pocketing it before rushing to the park.

By the time I arrived at the park, Niall was waiting for me in his car. I hopped into the car looking at Niall’s worried face. The second the door closed, we tore down the street.

We sat in silence for a while, neither wanting to break the tension. Rain droplets began to pour down, splattering on the windshield.

“How are we going to get to the island?” Niall asked. We had planned to rent a boat tomorrow, but now that wouldn’t be possible.

I thought through our possibilities, the island was too far to swim, so that was out.

“Wait! Robin has a boat at the dock. I remember him taking me out on it. The key is in a box next to the steering wheel.”

Niall looked over at me as we tore down the highway.

“Alright.” He whispered

__

Niall screeched up to the dock. We tore out of the car and ran down the dock looking for Robin’s boat. When I spotted it, we made a run for it.

Sirens could be heard off in the distance, they were getting closer to the dock.

We hopped onto the boat, looking for the box with the key. I spotted it, digging through the box trying to find the key.

The sirens were closer; we could see the lights flashing a few blocks away.

“Got it!” I said pulling out the key.

“Hurry Harry!” Niall said. He was frightened.

I put the key in the ignition, hoping it would start. The engine sputtered, but didn’t start. I tried again, the police cars now in view. The boat hummed before roaring to life.

Moving swiftly I backed the boat out of the dock, silently thanking Robin for teaching me how to control it, pulling out into the sea.

I turned the boat, aiming it in the direction of the island. We speed off. The boat roared against the open sea.  The rain beat down on us painfully hard. The rain was so thick that it was making it hard to see.

Niall turned around, his eyes growing wide.

“Harry, they’re coming.” He stuttered.

I turned around to see police boats following swiftly behind.

“Shit.” I muttered, forcing the boat to speed up.

A sharp shot rang out in the night air. The police were shooting at us. They were trying to stop us, even if that meant killing us.

The island was closer in view. It was no more than 50 feet away. We could make it. But even though it was possible, the universe had other things in mind.

The boat stuttered under our feet, slowing down to a stop. I tried to start the engine, but it wouldn’t give.

“Niall.” I shouted to the frightened boy beside me over the heavy rain and sirens “We’re going to have to swim. It’s the only way to get there.”

Niall nodded, we ran to the front of the boat.

“Ready?” I said to Niall. He looked at me and nodded. We grabbed each other’s hand and plunged into the cold, dark water.

Water roared in my ears, my hand still clasped onto his. Our heads bobbed up to the surface of the water. The rain and sea water pushing us every which way.

We pushed forward, swimming to the shore. The police boats were close behind, but they couldn’t see us. I don’t know if they saw us jump, but we weren’t going to take a chance. The water was freezing and if we didn’t get out soon, we would end up getting hypothermia.

More shots rang out. Niall and I pushed further. The shore was so close.

My feet touched sand. With a final push, Niall and I were pushing through the water on our feet, getting to the shore.

The police spotted us; they shot their guns again in a last attempt to take us down.

But we ran. We ran across the sand, the small grains sticking to our clothes. We were tired, but we didn’t stop. We continued on until we were surrounded by trees.

Collapsing onto the ground, Niall and I caught our breath.

I rolled over, looking at Niall. He was covered in sea water and sand, but he still looked stunning.

“We did it Niall. We’re free.” I breathed out, a laugh escaping my lips.

“We’re free.” Niall said. He laughed too. He laughed his full hearted laugh saying that we were free over and over again.

I leaned over Niall who was still laughing. I pressed my lips to his. I smiled beneath our kiss.

We were finally free. We could do what we wanted. We could love each other unconditionally.

~*~

 47 days. It took a mere 47 days for my life to change. 47 days to realize that society is wrong. What I once thought of as a curse turned out to be a blessing. In 47 days I realized that love is the greatest gift a person could have.

Over 1000 years, society lost its way. People were led astray. I pity those who believe love is a curse. It's far from that. It’s the greatest thing someone could ever be graced with.

I'm happy. I'm in love and I'm free.


End file.
